Friday, July 29, 2011

07/29/2011
What is P1 billion over nine
years of graft to P800 billion in debt service corruption each year,
totaling P7.2 trillion the past nine years? The former is just coffee
money while the latter is a gargantuan scam by the financial
institutions. Officially adopted as policy in past administrations, this
national swindle has even worsened under PeNoy after a fresh new round
of debts was incurred, beginning with P300 billion in December 2010. And
that’s despite the fact that the foreign debt, which the country no
longer needs, can even be reduced by paying off substantial portions
while renegotiating the rest. But has PeNoy made a squeak, much less,
thought about it?

Indeed, this problem has gone on for decades;
but the present regime has now been handed the golden opportunity to end
it by tapping the OFW remittances accumulated and idled in the Special
Deposit Account (SDA), as well as the surplus Gross International
Reserves (GIRs) regularly bragged about by the Bangko Sentral ng
Pilipinas (BSP). So why does PeNoy keep mum on all this? Could it be
ignorance, cowardice, or both?

Consumer woes brought about by
inflation are one of the most serious crises ever to hit the Filipino
people — from the astronomical rise in the price of National Food
Authority (NFA) rice (P11/kilo during Erap’s time to today’s P23/kilo)
to the high cost of public utilities (including our highest electricity
rates in Asia and our highest cellphone interconnection rates in the
Asia-Pacific).

In past annual assessments made by former
presidents, inflation has always been a key emphasis, with the lowly
galunggong as the standard. Nowadays, even galunggong is way beyond the
reach of poor Filipinos and is no longer mentioned. Discussions on
commodity prices are relevant only if the people have the jobs and the
decent income to purchase such goods and services.

However, one of
the centerpiece programs of PeNoy, the CCT (Conditional Cash Transfer)
or his political doleout program, where pro-PeNoy rallyists are
rewarded, and which doesn’t create jobs — confirms his government’s
failure at jobs creation.

One of the commodities that define
Filipino living standards today is electricity. PeNoy praised Congress
for two laws extending the lifeline rate subsidy and the Joint
Congressional Power Commission (JCPC) set-up to oversee electricity
privatization.

Upon hearing this, power consumer advocate Butch
Junia immediately texted us: “I do not know what to make of P-Noys’
claiming credit for the lifeline rate and extension of the JCPC. Did he
endorse the lifeline rate knowing full well that those consuming 101 kWh
or more per month are the ones paying that subsidy? That is P25
additional cost for a 150 kWh household. Did he know that the Epira
administered by the JCPC increased our power rates to the highest in
Asia? If he knew these, what kind of a president is he to lay the
subsidy burden on unknowing customers?... If he did not know these
fundamental realities… what kind of president is he?”

To settle the question,
I checked on data banks culled from the International Labor
Organization (ILO) figures placing RP’s 2010 unemployment rate at 7.2
percent — no different from what PeNoy is claiming today. Only, PeNoy
and his speechwriters tried to distort the picture by presenting
seasonal against annual trends — which is no different from Gloria
Arroyo’s style in claiming better stats.

But as they all
obfuscate, they have invariably classified tricycle drivers as among the
employed when such is the recourse of those who lose their jobs, same
with their tact of considering unpaid family workers as among the
employed.

This jobs crisis should be seen against the backdrop of
the economic environment — from Cory Aquino down to her son —
characterized by liberalization, deregulation and privatization. Trade
liberalization undercut Philippine industries that deregulation and
privatization made uncompetitive with predatory rate fixing of
privatized public utilities (electricity, water, irrigation, tollways,
port services, telecoms). Add to this increasing tax burden on both
industry and consumers and the humongous annual debt service and you
have a recipe for disaster.

As the Philippines became
uncompetitive, the middle class shrank and the underground economy
expanded, thus narrowing our tax base and causing government
capabilities to collapse with escalating graft and corruption. Kilusan
para sa Makabansang Ekonomiya (KME) chairman Jimmie Regalario summed
this all up in our Destiny Cable TV show entitled, “So-Ano Na?”: PeNoy
has nothing on any of these.

A long decade after mainstream
broadcast media stopped inviting me to their TV debates, I was invited
again last Monday to a 1 p.m. GMA News show. Winnie Monsod sat across
me. She gave PeNoy a passing mark based on the Movement for Good
Government (MGG)’s rating of 10 indicators — this, despite the fact that
the MGG actually rated PeNoy a failure, with a score of only 4.75 out
of 10.

Furthermore, Monsod crowed about the anti-corruption drive
of the “daang matuwid,” which I said was belied by PeNoy’s appointment
of several corrupt personalities — from the DILG and DoTC
undersecretaries, to the sweepstakes agency chief who was with the
Arroyo and FVR boards where she consented to and undoubtedly partook of
all the graft and corruption there. While I was at it, I also cited
Joker Arroyo’s alleged use of that agency’s funds for his 2001 campaign
which they choose to keep silent about.

Finally, PeNoy’s flagship
Public-Private Partnership (PPP) program was not mentioned because it’s
still an absolute zero; same with the bluster around the Spratlys and
the boasted acquisition of vintage Hamilton cutters, which are
laughable. These are why PeNoy’s cheering squad in mainstream papers
such as the Inquirer can only praise his “greatness” in oratory (like an
Amorsolo in speech) and the oversold “wang-wang” spiel… All in the
spirit of shameful and shameless obfuscation.

07/29/2011
The horse trading between the
House and Malacañang on the 2012 budget has started and to describe
these as wretched would be an understatement.

President Aquino had
submitted a P1.8-trillion budget that included more than P40 billion in
lump sum for the centerpiece cash transfer program or what his
administration calls the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) that
was even copied from the previous administration of Gloria Arroyo.

On
the day that the House received the proposed budget, Speaker Feliciano
Belmonte’s first move was to strike a deal with the Budget secretary on
the release of congressmen’s pork barrel or the Priority Development
Assistance Fund (PDAF) for which Belmonte nearly faced a mutiny earlier.

Belmonte,
who is an ally of Noynoy, but was a staunch ally of Gloria when she was
in Malacañang, bluntly told Budget Secretary Butch Abad that unless the
pork barrel is released the budget would be consigned to the dust bin..... MORE

07/29/2011
Noynoy claims to be treading
the straight path and has even called on the nation to do away with what
he calls the “wang-wang” culture representing abuse of power and
privilege. He says that as president, his vision is the nation’s social
transformation. He also says that he is there to strengthen the
institutions and even speaks even of instilling independence in such
institutions.

But what he says is not necessarily what he does, that’s for certain.

Noynoy
called for an end to corruption, yet he and his aides are heavy into
corrupting the House of Representatives by dangling the congressional
pork barrel release in exchange for the swift passage of his proposed
national budget.

But if, as he claims, he wants to strengthen the
institutions, one of which is the House, whose members are said to be
representatives of the people, why is he resorting to bribery and
further corrupting the already corrupt congressmen? Why should there be a
quid pro quo for the congressmen’s pork barrel, when this is what is
really due them, as allocated in the national budget?.... MORE

07/29/2011
COMPANY OUTPOST WARE — Afghan
commander Maqim Sediqi has spent more than half of his life on
battlefields but says that these days he is more preoccupied fighting
for respect than firing his gun.

The army captain leads some 100
men battling alongside American forces to keep control of the critical
Arghandab Valley in southern Kandahar province, where a surge of US
troops last year has seen some successes against a trenchant insurgency.

But
this year’s traditional summer fighting season comes as thousands of US
troops prepare to leave Afghanistan, putting the fledgling force under
pressure to show what they can do for themselves.

And while
commanders cite gains in the outlying areas of the province, the
birthplace of the Taliban, a string of political assassinations in
Kandahar city a few kilometers (miles) south has brought fresh fears of
an insurgent comeback..... MORE

07/29/2011
OSLO — Jens Stoltenberg,
whose government and party was targeted by last week’s deadly attacks,
has been unanimously hailed for his dignified and quintessentially
Norwegian handling of the crisis aftermath.

According to a poll
published on Wednesday, 94 percent of Norwegians have been satisfied
with the prime minister’s performance in the aftermath of last week’s
massacre while only two percent have been dissatisfied.

“Stoltenberg
has been a fantastic leader under exceptional circumstances, humane and
yet firm at the same time.
He has never been so impressive, Harald
Stanghelle, a columnist for the leading Aftenposten daily, told AFP.

When
a massive car bomb exploded outside his office on Friday afternoon, the
52-year-old was rushed into hiding by his security detail for fear that
his life was in danger..... MORE

07/29/2011
OSLO — Bullets were still
hitting the water when police arrived to stop the massacre on the
Norwegian island of Utoeya, the officer who led the operation said
Wednesday.

Haavard Gaasbakk, who headed the intervention team,
defended his men against criticism from some quarters that they were too
slow to get to the scene.

Gaasbakk said he was proud of his men’s
work Friday, the day self-confessed killer Anders Behring Breivik went
on the rampage and shot dead 68 people on the island.

“They were extremely solid and showed much courage right down the line,” Gaasbakk said.

According to the official version of events, it took police just over an
hour after receiving the first message about the shootings on the
island, 40 kilometers (25 miles) from Oslo, to arrest Behring Breivik..... MORE

Last we heard, the panel
investigating Doc Gerry’s murder has recommended the filing of charges
against members of the “hit team” — all from Quezon — who confessed to
the crime. But, wonder of wonders, the panel did not even bother to look
at the confessions of these people implicating in no uncertain terms,
prominent Palaweños, including former Palawan Gov. Joel Reyes whom the
Ortega family and a growing number of those who have been monitoring
this case allege have something to do with this dastardly act. But Mika
and her family, though doubly heart broken as a result of the panel’s
decision, continue to plod on. Before P-Noy’s second State of the
Nation Address (Sona), Mika and her mother made the rounds requesting
friends in media and in other sectors, including the religious, to
please remind the Chief Executive not only of Doc Gerry’s fate but all
other unsolved media and extra-judicial killings. They were hoping that
at the very least P-Noy would say something to get the investigating
bodies, especially the DoJ back on their feet and move even faster to
solve these cases. No such luck. But they remain hopeful. Yesterday,
Mika guested in our daily morning show Karambola over dwIZ and repeated
her plea. In response to her call and P-Noy’s pledge to do away with the
“wang-wang” culture of abuse of power and impunity, we are giving space
to her latest plea. We hope Malacañang will listen not only to her
family’s plea but those of other victims whose cases remain in limbo.
Here goes:.... MORE

Officials
of the Philippine National Police (PNP) placed in the hot seat at a
Senate probe into the acquisition of two used helicopters supposedly
owned by the family of former President Arroyo, passed off and paid for
as brand new units, tried to wash their hands off the anomalous purchase
while at the same time tried covering up for the real owners of the
aircraft in the raw deal which, in turn, incensed the senators.

As
a result, Senate probers failed to establish at the hearing yesterday
the true owners of the choppers who were alleged to be the Arroyos or
the former First Family were the original owners of two of the three
choppers the PNP purchased.

Appearing
before the Senate blue ribbon committee, PNP officials privy to the
transaction of the alleged irregular P105 million purchase of light
operational helicopters from Manila Aerospace Trading Corp. (Maptra)
failed to provide solid information on the purchases that happened in
2009 despite admitting that the PNP supply contract specified that the
helicopters to be purchased should be “unused” or brand new. One
official admitted to Senate probers that they were actually deceived by
Maptra, the supplier..... MORE

07/29/2011
There is no let-up from the
Aquino administration in its bid to pin down former President now Rep.
Gloria Arroyo on poll fraud, with the Department of Justice (DoJ)
yesterday saying it will be investigating fresh allegations that Arroyo
used the police to steal the 2004 presidential election.

The
inquiry will look into claims by a senior police officer that he broke
into the House of Representatives in 2005 to switch election documents
stored there so that Arroyo’s victory would survive a recount, Justice
Secretary Leila de Lima said.

“We’ve always known that in each
election there’s cheating, but the scale of it in 2004, based on the
various bits and pieces that we’ve been getting from our sources... it’s
really mind-boggling,” De Lima told reporters.
She said Arroyo’s
win could not be overturned by a finding of fraud, but the evidence
could be used to file criminal charges against those involved..... MORE

07/29/2011
SYDNEY — Australian police
said yesterday they had launched their first organ trafficking
investigation after an elderly kidney patient reportedly brought a
Filipina to Sydney for harvesting purposes.

Police said a house had been raided in March in relation to “suspected organ trafficking” and a probe was under way.

“This is the first organ trafficking case investigated by the Australian Federal Police,” a spokesman told AFP.

Officers
usually tasked with people trafficking and sex slavery crimes were
examining the case, she added, declining to detail the specific
allegations..... MORE

By Mario J. Mallari 07/29/2011
Tropical
storm “Juaning” yesterday left the country, leaving at least 35 people
dead, including four policemen and personnel of the Mines and
Geosciences Bureau (MGB) whose truck stalled in Ifugao province while
conducting hazard mapping in the area on Wednesday and was hit by a
massive landslide.

National Disaster Risk Reduction Management
Council (NDRRMC) executive director Undersecretary Benito Ramos said
that four bodies have been recovered by rescuers from the landslide that
hit a portion of the national highway in Aguinaldo town.

At around 7 a.m. yesterday, two bodies were unearthed from the landslide while two others were discovered hours later.

On
Wednesday, three personnel of the MGB-Department of Environment and
Natural Resources (DENR) were conducting hazard mapping in the area at
around 4 p.m. when their pickup truck stalled. Two policemen assisted
the MGB inspectors but unfortunately the landslide happened, burying the
victims..... MORE

Lawmakers
yesterday urged the House leadership to expedite the investigation into
the alleged switching of ballots at the time these were being
canvassed at the House of Representatives after the 2004 elections.

According
to San Juan Rep. Joseph Victor “JV” Ejercito, the admission of the
police officer that there was switching of election returns during the
Batasan canvass is a major evidence during the 2004 electoral fraud.

“All
those who have knowledge of the cheating and those who allowed this to
happen should be included in the investigation,” Ejercito said yesterday
even as he called for a wider probe into the allegations.

“I am
encouraging those involved to come out and shed light regarding the 2004
electoral fraud and 2001 conspiracy that both stole the presidency from
the rightful persons,” Ejercito, son of former President Estrada, said.
Estrada was ousted in a coup led by then Vice President Gloria
Macapagal-Arroyo in 2001..... MORE

07/29/2011
Joint operatives of the
Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) and Reformed Department
of Public Safety and Traffic Management (RDPSTM) of the Caloocan City
government have apprehended a total of 1,305 smoking ban violators all
over the city.

This was revealed by RDPSTM chief Al Sta. Maria in
his report to Mayor Enrico “Recom” Echiverri updating the latter on the
number of apprehensions that the two agencies have made since July 1.

Most
of the violators were individuals caught smoking cigarettes at the
Light Rail Transit (LRT) Monumento Station which is frequented by
thousands of commuters daily, Sta. Maria said.

Smoking ban is strictly observed not only in public places like the LRT but also in and around the city hall, he said..... MORE